The Provincial Bird
The black-capped chickadee is New Brunswick's official bird. It
was adopted as the provincial bird in August 1983.
The black-capped chickadee is found across much of southern Canada
and the northern United States. Except in the northern-most
locations, it stays over winter -- it does not "migrate".
The black-capped chickadee eats insect eggs, larvae and pupae,
weevils, lice sawflies and other insects. It hides food in secret
locations just in case it has difficulty finding food later on.
The black-capped chickadee male and female dig a hole in a dead stump
that it uses as a nest. The female lays 5 to 10 eggs in its
nest. The eggs are white with fine dark spots. They are so
fragile that it is difficult to pick them up without breaking them.
Hawks and the northern shrike are some of the black-capped
chickadees' most dangerous "predators" (which means they kill
and eat the chickadees). Weasels, chipmunks and squirrels enter
their nests, or tear them open and eat the eggs or young birds. |
